view the virtual ribbon around the earth at planetfesto.org

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Greatnonprofits.org

I just got contacted by these guys. what a great idea!

"I'm with a nonprofit organization called GreatNonprofits -- it's a (badly needed) Yelp for the nonprofit world, with the mission of adding transparency and accountability to a sector that desperately needs it. We all love the hard work nonprofits do, but we think there's a place for opinions and reviews by everyday people!

The was founded by a veteran of social innovation from the Stanford University Social Innovation group; our site launched last year and is going strong. For Earth Day we're holding our first ever Green Choice Awards -- a contest to identify the best environmental nonprofits out there, according to everyday, concerned reviewers. Nonprofits as big as the NRDC and Greenpeace will be reviewed alongside small, focused, local groups...think Alaska's Iditarod Trail Committee or the Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture. Everyone and everything is game -- hundreds of reviews specifically on environmental nonprofits. Good, bad, scathing, praising -- you name it!

It's easy to follow the contest on Twitter at @GreatNonprofits -- they're using the hashtag #greenchoice"."

This idea is great because you can help by sharing your knowledge of environmental and green-focused nonprofits with the world, making both the nonprofit sector more efficient, as well as giving people an idea of where to put their time and money to good use...especially in such a resource-strapped economy.

Please check them out, and give planetfesto a little boost if you are so inclined.

Friday, February 13, 2009

Great NYT article on health-conscious parenting

Thought this article just about said it all about the balancing act we play as parents as we obsess about plastics for our kids' lunches, and then find out that the air they breathe at school might be toxic. This is by an amazing writer, and fellow parent in Sebastian's preschool class, Peggy Orenstein. Well worth checking out here.



Wednesday, January 28, 2009

More news on High Fructose Corn Syrup

John and I were just talking the other day about whether HFCS is just bad for you because it is so high in sugar, or whether it is also bad because it is concentrating toxins from the (cheapest) growing and processing methods (read, most toxic...). I get to work today and see the following email from Kathryn from the Green Fork Blog...

FDA Has Known for Years of Mercury in High Fructose Corn Syrup (EatWellBlog)
by Nathan Shedroff - Tuesday, 27 January 2009, 09:45 PM

Our Melamine: There's Mercury in High Fructose Corn Syrup, and the FDA Has
Known for Years
by Leslie [links at url]

Maybe Jeremy Piven didn't get mercury poisoning from fish at all — according
to the results of this new study released by the Institute for Agriculture
and Trace Policy (IATP), the actor may well have been sickened by soda or
candy or anything that contains high fructose corn syrup, which, if you eat
processed food in this country means, well, just about anything.

Foodies and nutritionists alike have been griping about high fructose corn
syrup for years, and the industry has responded with an "astroturf" campaign
and a level of secrecy generally reserved for the military officials or
secret societies (see Corn Refiners' Association president Audrae Erickson's
stonewalling performance in King Corn).

Of course, I wouldn't want to show my hand either, if the making of my
product could be described as undertaking a small "Manhattan Project" (see
eye-glazing production info here). But as it turns out, the HFCS industry
has been hiding some major skeletons in its closet — according to the IATP
study (pdf), over 30% of products containing the substance tested positive
for mercury.

What makes this news truly shocking is not just that the manufacturers of
high fructose corn syrup would put consumers' health at risk, but that the
US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) knew about the mercury in the syrup
and has been sitting on this information since 2005.

Here's the connection, according to the IATP press release (pdf) announcing
the study: The IATP study comes on the heels of another study, conducted in
2005 but only recently published by the scientific journal, Environmental
Health, which revealed that nearly 50 percent of commercial HFCS samples
tested positive for the heavy metal. Renee Dufault, who was working for the
FDA at the time, was among the 2005 study's authors.

Here's how the mercury gets in there, according to Janet at the Ethicurean:

How did the heavy metal get in there? In making HFCS — that "natural"
sweetener, as the Corn Refiners Associaton likes to call it — caustic soda
is one ingredient used to separate corn starch from the corn kernel.
Apparently most caustic soda for years has been produced in industrial
chlorine (chlor-alkali) plants, where it can be contaminated with mercury
that it passes on to the HFCS, and then to consumers.

And here's more from the press release:

"While the FDA had evidence that commercial HFCS was contaminated with
mercury four years ago, the agency did not inform consumers, help change
industry practice or conduct additional testing."

And on why it matters:

"Mercury is toxic in all its forms," said IATP's David Wallinga, M.D., and a
co-author in both studies. "Given how much high fructose corn syrup is
consumed by children, it could be a significant additional source of mercury
never before considered. We are calling for immediate changes by industry
and the FDA to help stop this avoidable mercury contamination of the food
supply."

In China, heads might roll over a scandal like this one, at least if the
country received global attention for its allowing corrupt health officials'
greasy palms come before, um, public health.

Of course, in this country, Dufault's neck is safe. But what about the
health of American consumers? Let's see the Corn Refiner's Association try
to spin this one.

Saturday, January 17, 2009

Earth Hour

In 2007, 2.2 million people took part in the world's first Earth Hour in Sydney Australia. Just one year later, 50 million people in 370 cities and towns, in more than 35 countries worldwide switched off their lights for Earth Hour.

Earth Hour 2009 aims to reach more than one billion people in 1000 cities around the world, inviting communities, business and governments to switch off lights for one hour at 8:30pm on Saturday March 28 and sending a powerful global message that we care enough about climate change to take action.

For more information, click here.